The strained relations between the conductor and violinist Alexandre Da Costa and his musicians led to the intervention of an intermediary appointed by the Ministry of Labor. A “success plan” was signed by the parties in June, but musicians interviewed by La Presse are worried about the start of the new season.
Published at 12:47 am. Updated at 06:00.
“We looked at the main problems that affected the working atmosphere and agreed with the orchestra management on a work plan to be applied for the next season,” confirmed the president of the Guild of Musicians of Quebec, Luc Fortin.
The union representing the musicians of the Longueuil Symphony Orchestra, which became the Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra two months ago, met last May and June with the orchestra’s general director, Jean-Marc Léveillé, as well as with the conductor and violinist Alexandre Da Costa, whose leadership has been challenged by several members since his appointment in 2019.
Since he took office as artistic director, no fewer than 18 instrumentalists have left the orchestra, a real burden for this symphonic ensemble, which includes around forty musicians. In recent months, the orchestra has also had to go through a wave of hiring that was slowed by the pandemic.
“We are in the process of filling the 15 positions that are still vacant,” Luc Fortin tells us. All seats are occupied until the opening concert of the new season on October 1st. »
Worried musicians
In an investigation published last spring, the daily Le Devoir spoke to around ten musicians who had left the orchestra or were thinking about leaving. In short, they all criticized the conductor Da Costa for his poor conducting skills, but also for the fact that he repeatedly presented himself as a musician to the detriment of the ensemble members. Ultimately, they all regretted the orchestra’s departure from the symphonic repertoire.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
The president of the Guild of Musicians of Quebec, Luc Fortin
“We had very open discussions with Mr. Da Costa and the management and they were aware that there were things to improve,” Luc Fortin told us. Nobody tried to shy away from it, so I’m confident things will go well next season. »
But at least three musicians from the orchestra interviewed by La Presse who have decided to remain in the ensemble do not share Mr. Fortin’s optimism.
We feel like we’re not being heard, but we have no choice. What worries us most is that nothing changes. When the “success plan” was presented to us, we mostly talked about management vision, not really labor relations.
A musician from the Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra who prefers to speak to us on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals
Another musician fears that the relationship of trust between the musicians and the conductor will irrevocably break down. “When we changed the name of the orchestra after a mediation, Jean-Marc Léveillé spoke out in the media against the musicians and said that we were doing our job poorly, so I have doubts despite the ‘success plan’,” she said.
The musicians La Presse spoke to still claim that Alexandre Da Costa does not have the skills to conduct an orchestra. It is said that he is also not known for his “benevolence” towards his musicians.
“Your artistic proposal is valid, but we wonder why management accepted it in the first place,” one of the musicians we spoke to told us. He could have started his project instead of destroying something that already exists. We recognize his talent as a musician, but when Mr. Da Costa plays the role of concertmaster when there is already a concertmaster in the orchestra, it becomes controversial. »
“Everything is fine,” says management
The musicians’ concerns were heard by the two mediators who intervened with the musical ensemble.
The mediator’s report, which is available to La Presse, states, among other things, that a “very large majority of musicians” have the impression that “the orchestra is moving away from its symphonic mission.” While in the “success plan”, which La Presse also consulted, the main objectives are to “restore communication between management and musicians”. and in turn “to support the performance of the musicians as part of the implementation of the artistic director’s vision”.
When questioned by La Presse, the general director of the Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra, Jean-Marc Léveillé, believes he has reassured the musicians on the question of the orchestra’s mission.
“They were under the impression that we were making pop music,” he told us. For example, at our season opening concert we play Beethoven’s Ninth, but between movements we present songs in several languages. »
It’s part of what Alexandre wants to bring to this orchestra, but it needed to be explained and the musicians understood it very well. Everything is good now.
Jean-Marc Léveillé, general director of the Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra
The mediator’s report also speaks of an “authoritarian and threatening approach towards unruly people” and the fact that “the expression of different points of view leads to measures such as exclusion from engagement, etc.” [des] Meetings of a disciplinary nature”. A point echoed by a musician who says she suffered “direct individual repercussions” for asserting her collective bargaining agreement rights.
Jean-Marc Léveillé rejects this criticism. “I heard it in mediation [l’approche autoritaire], he replies, but we couldn’t put an example on the table. After that, there are musicians who have not kept their contract. That’s something different, we’re just exercising our administrative rights. »
What other complaints were raised by the musicians during the mediation that were taken into account by management?
“The other element is Alexandre’s guidance while playing his instrument,” continues Jean-Marc Léveillé. It’s not always easy, but they agreed on certain communication mechanisms between them, with codes so that they understand each other, and since then things have been going very well, including with the solo violin. Alexandre is a very good cook. But anyone who doesn’t want to work with Mr. Da Costa from the start will never be satisfied. »
Withdrawal of funding from Longueuil
With the name change of the Longueuil Symphony Orchestra last July — which was renamed the Orchester philharmonique du Québec — the Léveillé-Da Costa tandem lost the roughly $122,000 in recurring annual funding the orchestra received from the city.
“We had several meetings with the management of the orchestra to understand their vision,” Longueuil mayor Catherine Fournier told us. It is a cultural organization that wants to expand, that wants to have a national rather than a regional reach. That’s why we didn’t want to slow down their development, but there will no longer be any annual funding. On the other hand, it is not excluded that we have service contracts for the implementation of certain activities carried out on our territory. »
PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
The mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier
This withdrawal does not worry Jean-Marc Léveillé, who mentions the contribution of “bigger partners”. According to him, the decision to change the name of the orchestra was prompted by the abandonment of the project to build a concert hall on the south coast. “It wasn’t ideal for us to play at the Théâtre de la Ville, we lost money. When the 2020-2021 space project was abandoned, we thought about changing the name. »
Today, the general director of the Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra is convinced that the musical ensemble is in a good position. “We’ve gone from 9,000 spectators per year to 32,000, our musicians play more often, last year we gave 52 concerts, next spring we’re going to South America again, so I see the future as interesting.” »
The discussions between the orchestra management and the musicians’ guild are far from over. In addition to monitoring the “success plan” that will be implemented this season, negotiations have just begun between the two parties with a view to renewing the collective agreement that expired on August 31st.
The story so far
January 2019: Violinist Alexandre Da Costa is appointed artistic director of the Longueuil Symphony Orchestra. He replaces Marc David.
November 2022: At the request of the orchestra management and the union, the Ministry of Labor appoints an arbitrator who regrets the departure of 18 musicians.
June 2023: A “Success Plan” is signed between the management of the orchestra and the Guild of Musicians of Quebec, which represents the musicians of this musical ensemble.
July 2023: The Longueuil Symphony Orchestra changes its name to the Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra.